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Over the next few days, the two lived well off the land. Food was plentiful and Oldsmobill was able to fashion a primitive wardrobe and a pair of shoes made from the hides of several wild animals. He was constantly amazed at the large number of creatures running around in the forest and marsh lands. He came to believe that the overabundance of wild life in the area must have been due mainly to the Timbrookian's total lack of hunting skills, as well as their predisposal to a diet based mainly on wood and petroleum distillates.
The wildlife continued to intrigue him; for it seemed that the creatures in the area had very little fear of mankind. This made the job of the two ever-more skillful hunters much easier, for they could always get fairly close to their prey. In fact, Olds noticed that a few of the animals, mainly rabbits and groundhogs, actually ran up to them and produced a sort of jeering sound, or stuck their little pink tongues out at them. A few seemed to form obscene gestures with their little paws before quickly running back into the forest. One particular rabbit even went so far as to bend over in front of the two, and — while repeatedly slapping his hindquarters — vocalized a raspberry spitting sound at them.
Olds got him with a spear as he was trying to skip off.
Another remarkable incident involved a rather rude warthog that followed them through the woods for an entire day. Each time Johann and Oldsmobill stopped to rest, the frisky boar would run straight at them, stop within a few feet, snort a couple of times, dance in circle for a few minutes (Johann called it a 'pig jig') while humming the song "Funkytown." Then, the little beast would snort, gurgle and spit at them, before finally ending his routine with a long, resounding bit of porkish flatulence. It would, at that point, start skipping away and back into the forest — giggling and snorting happily — while yapping: 'Nah, nah, nah-nah, nah..."
On their last encounter, Johann shot him in the head with an arrow. "There's nothing worse than a boring boar," he replied.
"That's good!" Olds laughed, "My turn!" He struck a dramatic pose, placing his hand upon his chest and pronouncing, "The poor beast was taken in the prime of his life...tusk, tusk."
They had a good laugh over that, as well as a mighty fine dinner. After the meal, Olds was busy making a sleeve out of some rabbit pelts that had been dried over the fire. He already had a nice pair of furry boots and a vest-like covering for his torso, as well as a pair of rabbit-skin shorts — admittedly, not the most fashionable outfit in the world, but considering his situation a few days before, it would most definitely suffice.
Johann was busy making another batch of tea and stirring the contents slowly in a pot. "What are you going to do now, Olds?" he asked.
"Well...these clothes are all about done and with the boar skin and maybe a few more rabbits...heh, I was thinking of maybe heading to Rottweillor," he replied. The two had never talked about one another's future plans, or even if they had any. They were mainly just learning how to survive in the forest, and spent many an hour practicing their hunting skills or just wandering about. Johann didn't seem too eager to return to Timbrook and didn't even mention the place much in fear of hurting Olds' feelings or bringing up sad thoughts. But, Oldsmobill had an agenda — and the renewed confidence to carry that agenda out — he just hadn't informed Johann of it, yet.
"Look," Olds spoke, putting down the pelt he was sewing, "I want to thank you again for all that you've done. Seriously, I don't know how I could have survived out here without your help."
Johann brushed the remarks aside and handed a cup of tea to Olds. "It's I that should be thanking you, for taking the time to show me how to use a bow, and a fishing pole!" He started laughing uproariously, "I haven't eaten so well in all my life!"
They both chortled for several minutes. Olds sipped his tea and continued lacing the small strips of hide through the furry sleeve. Johann stared at the fire. His expression slowly changed to one of concern.
"Rottweillor's a long way away," he softly said to the flames.
"Yea. Maybe I'll stop at that town you spoke of... Fouldune?"
"Ya."
"Maybe trade some pelts, get a job, save a little money up..." Olds sighed, thinking of the future, and how far away he was from fulfilling the mission he had been given, "...and just go from there I guess."
"Fouldune is a rough place, makes Timbrook look like a Vacation Bible School," Johann smirked. He still stared into the flames, and took a drink of the hot tea. "It'll be dangerous alone," he said, "especially if you're dressed like...a big rabbit."
Olds started laughing again. He looked over at Johann who began to crack a smile before slyly glancing away.
"I didn't think you would want to go, but, if you want to, this big rabbit could obviously use all the help he can get."
"Hmm...sounds good. I've been thinking that maybe it's time I saw some of the world outside of this swamp and this forest. I must tell you one thing, though," Johann stood up and finished his cup of tea, "I don't know about this whole quest-thing you're on, but if you believe it, that's fine by me. I can't promise I'll follow you to Rottweillor, but I'll certainly go as far as Fouldune."
"Fair enough," Olds replied.
"After that, well, we'll just see what happens."
"Sounds great...thank you, Johann."
The Timbrookian dropped his cup near the fire and suddenly pulled his leather pouch up over his shoulder.
Olds looked on, a bit surprised. "We're not leaving now, are we?" he asked.
"No," Johann replied, slipping his hood up over his head. "I'm heading back to Timbrook, to pick up a few items. Perhaps borrow some extra clothes for us, I mean, your tailoring is fine, but I'm not walking into Fouldune with a guy wearing furry shorts."
"Okay," Olds smirked, "Let me get my boots on."
"No way. You don't need to go back there."
"Oh, I can handle it."
"Listen. Honestly, I don't think you can handle it. Not yet, anyway. Now, I'm not saying that they don't deserve your wrath, and I'm not saying that someday, one day, you may return to Timbrook and repay them to some degree. I don't know. Legal action is always a possibility, I guess, provided you bring your own lawyer, judge, and jury. But, I do know one thing..." Johann stared intently at Olds, "It won't be this day."
He leaned forward and held his hand out. Olds looked down a couple of seconds before he firmly shook it. "You're right," he quietly replied.
Johann grinned, turned, and began the long walk toward Timbrook. "Stay here, keep the fire going, and I'll be back in a few, short, time chunks!"
He then disappeared into the darkness.
Oldsmobill sat and stared at the fire before picking up a large fallen tree limb and tossing it into the flames. He watched silently as tiny orange and yellow embers lifted into the atmosphere.
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